¡Huesos Fuertes Ahora!

Beyond Borders

Faith Based
Programs & Projects

Advocacy

Support CHOF

Programs To Stop An Epidemic.™

The Promotores Osteoporosis Initiative

With Vision y Compromiso, the Statewide Network of Promotores

(Community Health Workers)

California (2009-Present)

CHOF and Vision y Compromiso (VyC) are working together to provide the statewide network of Promotores (Community Health Workers) culturally appropriate and comprehensive osteoporosis training and education, along with curriculum for a train-the-trainer program, and bilingual education materials. Additionally, the CHOF/VyC initiative incorporates research and evaluation components, Social Marketing, and annual screenings and workshops for best practices and current research/medical updates at the annual VyC conference the first week of each December.

Ventanilla de Salud Project
With The Consulate General of Mexico In Los Angeles

Los Angeles (2009-Present)

The purpose of the Ventanilla de Salud (VDS) project is to improve access to health services for immigrants of Mexican origin by formalizing a health education, medical home referral and insurance enrollment program within the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles. The target population is immigrant families of Mexican origin who do not have access to medical services and health education in Los Angeles County.

CHOF is the only osteoporosis organization to work with the Ventanilla de Salud project and provides free screenings and education each month at the Consulate. Individuals with abnormal results are given a consultation on site and referred to free or low-cost public clinics with appropriate staff and facilities for follow-up.

¡Huesos Fuertes Ahora!
The Latino Osteoporosis Health Collaborative

Contra Costa County, CA (2007-Present)

CHOF and a distinguished group of partners have and will continue to increase awareness of osteoporosis and improve its management among Latinos in Contra Costa County who are at risk for the disease. After a year for planning, the collaborative is in its second year of implementation of a comprehensive intervention strategy. Funded by the John Muir/Mt. Diablo Community Health Fund, the partners are the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research & Education (FORE), La Clínica de La Raza, Inc., The California Hispanic Osteoporosis Foundation and Latino Consultants, LLC. Interventions have reached over 700 seniors in Contra Costa County that include a comprehensive strategy combining social marketing, outreach, education, bone density screening, and disease management. A key component of this project is osteoporosis education and training of Promotores, Physicians and Providers, and other touch-point staff by the collaborative team.

Beyond Borders Training & Research

International (2008-Present)

CHOF has entered into a strategic research, testing, and education relationship with the Universidad Espíritu Santo’s School of Medicine in Ecuador. CHOF is developing a grass-roots program for community awareness throughout Ecuador with research initiating at the Province of Guayas and then expanding to understand the incidence and prevalence in different populations throughout the country. CHOF is also providing the survey and pertinent information for the study. In turn, the university is providing physicians and staff for interventions, education dissemination and data collection that have been trained by CHOF. Also, CHOF is providing two ultrasound heel-screening machines for the length of the project.

The California Osteoporosis Summit
A Focus On The Latino Community

Sacramento, CA (2007)

CHOF, along with the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education (FORE), the National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW) and the United States Bone & Joint Decade (USBJD), sponsored The California Osteoporosis Summit in Sacramento in October of 2007 regarding the osteoporosis crisis emerging in the Latino community. Attendees included community leaders, managed care, health educators, media, and legislators. Dr. Kimberly Templeton, the Chair of the USBJD Public Education Committee, joined Dr. Augusto Focil, President and co-Founder of CHOF and other experts in presenting results of recent research that represented a paradigm shift in osteoporosis reporting outcomes: Latinos are very much at risk for osteoporosis. For years, Latinos were considered to be less likely to have osteoporosis than other groups.

However, Latino-specific research by CHOF and others show that not only is the reverse true, but first- and second-generation Latinos are much less likely to be diagnosed. Even then, typically they are diagnosed at more advanced stages and are less likely to comply with medical direction after one year. Therefore, earlier education and screenings are critical to both compliance and prevention. During the summit, CHOF sponsored free bone scans at the Binational Health Week Fair in Sacramento. Also, the conference was covered by the #1 Spanish-language media outlets in the nation (Univision television and La Opinión newspaper).

The Southern California Latina Osteoporosis

Education and Screening Project

Ventura County (2006)

This study was conducted with 318 postmenopausal Latinas primarily of Mexican decent with a low income and low education backgrounds with the Archdiocese of Ventura County. The purpose of the study was to 1) establish whether providing Latino women with osteoporosis education concurrent with a T-score or a T-score plus a 10-year fracture risk assessment would motivate them to seek medical help and 2) determine whether acculturation of Latinas had an impact on their health seeking behavior.

Outcomes: The study results indicated that 31% of the screened Latinas, 65 and older, were osteoporotic, based on T-score of at least 2.5. However, the T-score with absolute fracture report did not appear to influence patient or physician behavior. A key indicator – aside from supporting that Latinas are indeed a high risk group for this disease – is that there is a need for better understanding of Latinas and physicians’ perception, attitude and behavior related to osteoporosis in this ethnic group.

Once again, many thanks to our generous donors for both their financial and in-kind support, and to our dedicated volunteers whom have contributed and who continue to support CHOF's mission and the important work we do throughout the state. Your support is vital in sustaining our organization and is deeply appreciated.